Handling Lossless Audio
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Essential Software
Mac
- xACt
- Key features: Decoding/encoding FLAC/SHN, checksum, shntool frontend, fixing sector boundary errors (SBE), tagging, lossy compression, batch rename
Windows
- AddaWav
- Key feature: Combining WAV files
- CD Wave (not free, but no limitations on unregistered version)
- Key features: Creating/deleting split points in WAV (supports 24-bit and surround audio), splitting WAV, read/write CUE, encode FLAC/OGG/MP3
- dBpoweramp Music Converter (not free)
- Key features: Convert to MP3, FLAC, Apple lossless easily; also great for downsampling 24bit/96kHz audio to 16bit/44.1kHz audio.
- Exact Audio Copy
- Key feature: Best Windows software for burning error-free CDs
- Medieval CUE Splitter
- Key feature: Easy tool to split MP3s into tracks via CUE sheets
- Warning: Use only for splitting long MP3s. Not recommended for splitting FLAC/WAV as it reportedly introduces sector boundary errors (SBE) into audio. For splitting WAV, use CD Wave
- Trader's Little Helper
- Key features: Decoding/encoding APE/FLAC/SHN, checksum, fixing SBE, tagging, lossy compression, batch rename, torrent creation
Mac & Windows
- Audacity
- Key feature: General audio editing
- shntool
- Key features: Command line data processing and reporting utility for WAV files, with ability to handle other formats such as APE/FLAC (must install helper programs to do so)
- For Mac, the easiest installation method is via Homebrew
- FLAC
- Key features: Most common lossless audio compression format, with large repository of tools capable of handling the format
- For Mac, the easiest installation method for the command line tool is via Homebrew
- Clementine
- Multiplatform music player that plays FLAC and accurately plays FLAC tracks from cue files
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are Sector Boundary Errors?